Nurarihyon
by RESTIA
Summary: In the olden days, humans feared youkais. The youkai who stood at the top and led the tumultuous horde of demons was given the title Lord of Pandemonium, ruler of all monsters, goblins and spirits, master of fear and terror. They also had another name for him... Nurarihyon.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Nurarihyon  
><strong>Author<strong>: RESTIA  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Warnings<strong>: Might contain OOCness.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> In the olden days, humans feared youkais. The youkai who stood at the top and led the tumultuous horde of demons was given the title Lord of Pandemonium, ruler of all monsters, goblins and spirits, master of fear and terror. They also had another name for him... Nurarihyon.  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Only the story concept is mine. The rest is owned by their respective owners.  
><strong>To my reviewers: <strong>Really, telling me this is "bad" does not tell me anything. How can I improve? What can I work on? I don't mind criticisms, but I do mind uninformative reviews.

* * *

><p><em>"Follow me, my Hundred Demons."<em>

**Nurarihyon  
><strong>

Humans are bound by what they see, what they perceive as natural, and cling to what they know and understand. They then call this "reality". But knowledge, understanding and perception are all subjective and ambiguous.

What can be called "true" or "realistic"? There is no universal answer.

One man's reality could be another man's illusion. In a world where lies and deception are the shadows that shapes the world, what one man calls "reality" can simply be a mirage. All humans live with assumptions that they believe to be fact, with the vague concept they deem "logical", "rational", "scientific". Their world, shaped by their beliefs, molded by their close-mindedness, is enclosed, small, _tiny._

Bounded by science, shackled by logic, humanity in the twenty-first century have evolved and gained so much, and yet have lost so much in the process. Improving their technology, advancing forwards to what they believe to be a brighter future, what have mankind lost in the process?

Humanity have lost the ability to connect with the environment. Frivolously and flippantly expanding their urban settlements, mankind have abused their power to wreak havoc and destruction among the natural environment, polluting the seas and the skies, all for the sake of "mankind's future".

It is no wonder the Earth, the world is flooded with malice, malevolence and enmity.

Humanity have also developed a tendency to limit their horizons. Forsaking all their ancestors once believed in, labeling the gods, deities like Zeus and Amaterasu, as "myths to explain lightning and the rise and setting of the sun in the past", calling it primitive nonsense, mankind believes they have advanced so far with their technology. They became judgmental, close-minded, and refuse to accept anything else other than science as "truth". They call the myths "supernatural", and they live in their "natural" world.

They have lost the ability to _see_.

They have lost the ability to _hear_.

They have lost the ability to _perceive_.

As a result, gods, angels, demons, devils, creatures of all supernatural origins, beings from all sorts of myths and religions became invisible to the average mortal. Humanity willfully blinded themselves, so as to continue deluding themselves in a fantasy where their "reality" is "true".

Humans fear what they cannot understand. As a result, they rush to give a "logical" and "scientific" explanation for everything. For there is nothing "irrational" and "illogical" in the world.

As a result, myths became myths and religions became religions. They are fictional, false, _illogical_.

But they are very real. They exist. Angels, demons, devils, dragons... they exist, and they live. There are a myriad of legendary creatures straight from myths, folktales, lores and religions of all kinds, from all cultures that coexist in the world today.

And among the thousands of "illogical" creatures that inhabit the Earth today, there is one single group of creatures which stands at the top in sheer chaotic irrationality. Being a very broad category, comprising of creatures which ranged eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, these creatures brought fear, instilled terror and created awe in the night.

From animal spirits to demonic trees, from possessed tea-pots to the undead, these creatures varied from each other drastically in appearances, nature and powers. They were youkais, creatures that instilled fear, inspired awe, created terror, lorded admiration.

In the past, when humans still believed in the supernatural, humans feared youkais, for they were a "mysterious apparition", an "unknown calamity", an "unaccountable phenomena". Unscientific and hence fictional, these creatures were an aberration to the humans' "logical" world.

And the sole youkai who stood at the helm and led the tumultuous horde of demons was given the title Lord of Pandemonium, ruler of all monsters, goblins and spirits, master of fear and terror, demon king of Kyoto, King of the North Star.

The humans also had another title for him... They called him...

**Nurarihyon**.

* * *

><p><strong>Mt. Hiei<strong>

Mt. Hiei. A mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures of Japan, this mountain had a famous history and was well-known to be the subject of a large amount of folktales in Japan over the ages. It was also once thought to have been the house to the gods and demons of the Shinto religion.

It is on this mountain where our story begins.

Under the pale creamy disc that was the moon, under the jet black sea that was the sky, two individuals stood at the peak of Mt. Hiei, their clothes fluttering in the mild breeze, the wind gently tussling with their hair.

The first individual was a man that appeared to be eighteen years of age to the human eye. Through closer inspection, this individual was a handsome and intense fellow with unkempt dirty blonde hair that seemed to spike all over the place and defy gravity, with eyes a shade of azure blue that resembled the seas and the skies. Donning a red leather cloak with designs of black flames sewed on the hemline, with a design of what appeared to be a spiral with a pointed edge on the back, over a black kimono, and wearing a geta. Fastened to his hips was a beautiful blade, the blade with the kanji characters for _Kurama_ emblazoned within its steel. With a hilt of crimson red, with a circular handguard, it was sheathed in a scabbard painted the red of blood. The most unique feature this individual possessed were three lines chiseled on each cheek on his face, which looked similar to whiskers from a cat... or a fox. Even if he looked deceptively human, he exuded a curious aura of power, of strength, of charisma, one that belied his existence as one that lied outside the boundaries of all human knowledge, wisdom and power.

Appearing as a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, the second individual was a vixen that truly exemplified and defined the words _femme fatale_. With long and wavy golden blonde hair that reach down to the knees, with blank eyes of amber honey that shone with emotions, with a skin the tone of alabaster, of milk, clad in a shrine maiden _hakama_, calling this individual beautiful would be an insult. The most curious and noticeable features the woman carried would be the beautiful and furry fox-like ears of the same color as her hair that lied on top of her head, and the nine unusual golden brown tails with white tips that whipped through the air. Her body as whole seemed to be designed to be translucent, to resonate all of her separate features into a being of ephemeral beauty. Hers was an existence that lied outside the boundaries of all human knowledge, wisdom, beauty.

For they were yokais.

The man stood at the edge of the cliff, a tinge of vacancy in his eyes as he gazed at the distant horizons, his vision piercing through the thick veil of mist and fog to the treacherous and rocky terrains around him. The woman stood at the back, silent, patient, waiting.

"...It is slightly unfortunate that it is mid-autumn.", The man spoke, his voice flat, monotonous, concealing any emotions he might be feeling. "Were it spring, we could have enjoyed the beautiful blooming flowers."

The women held a red maple leaf to her lips, her tails swishing to and fro as she softly replied, "Autumn has its own appeal. And now, I am here with you, in the autumn. That alone... is more than I can ask for."

"You endured my absence... thinking of that?" The man replied, his voice audible even over the harsh winds.

The vixen merely smiled, her silence enough of an answer to the question.

"I see... It have been tough on you, leading Kyoto, our capital, in my absence." The man stated emphatically, his voice melancholic with sorrow. "I must apologize, and once again thank you for your loyal service... Yasaka."

"...I merely did what was natural." Yasaka commented, while tilting her head to stare at the boundless sky above. It was true, after all, to her, loyally serving the man in front of her was as natural as breathing, as instinctive as eating, as visceral as drinking. "Yes, I merely did what was natural as one of your attendants... Naruto-sama."

The now-named Naruto sighed, but refrained from commenting. Yasaka's lips crawled up in an amused smile as she heard the irritated sigh. Naruto's dislike for suffixes was almost legendary to his subordinates. She found Naruto's adverse reaction to formalities amusing.

Naruto then closed his eyes as he listened to the gentle humming of the wind, a small smile on his face.

"Yasaka, was that previous youkai a herald?"

Yasaka demurely smiled, as she replied with, "Yes. He brought a message regarding the situation in the joint Gremory-Sitri territory in the Human World. Kokabiel is attempting to start another war between the Three Factions. Just as you predicted... Naruto-sama."

At that, Naruto looked over his shoulders, his eyes glinting with amusement. "That warmonger, trying to reignite the sparks of war? Haha, well, we can't let that happen, can we?"

"...So you are going?"

"Of course.", Naruto paused, his eyes drinking in the sight of the distant horizons. "Another war... would not be beneficial to the Three Factions, and to us as well. After all, they are fighting on _our _territory, _our _land. It is time to show the world why we yokais are to be feared!"

Yasaka merely bowed, lifting her right hand to clasp over her breast, over her heart to show her subservience.

"The question isn't whether I can do it. I shall judge that crow myself, to see if he lives or he dies..." Naruto remarked, turning around to move backwards from the cliff-side and towards Yasaka. He quirked a small smile, "I've been causing you nothing but trouble. I get carried away by my own desires, and impulsively, selfishly do what I want. I have without a doubt caused a large amount of headaches for you."

Yasaka tried to protest, "That's not..."

Naruto merely clasped his palm on Yasaka's shoulder, cutting her off, giving her smile that made her feel light-headed and flushed, pushing his face to mere inches away from Yasaka's, almost as if he was about to kiss her, before continuing his words. "...But your service shall not go unrewarded."

Letting go of the vixen's shoulder and turning back, Naruto angled his neck to gaze at the abyss that was the base of the mountain, and its unlimited scenery that spreaded infinitely. "I should not have brought you outside unnecessarily. But I simply wanted to feel this... the sensation of the world as it spreads beyond."

Naruto chuckled humorlessly, "Yet another one of my whimsical desires."

Naruto suddenly straightened his back, as black feathers started to rain from the sky. A pulse of energy signaled the beginning, the initium of a spell. The rustled shuffling of feathers resounded behind the two individuals, the rain of feathers eventually letting up to reveal a cloaked and nondescript kneeling figure with ivory white hair and bloody, crimson orbs for eyes, with three pair of wings of the darkest black sprouting from the figure's back, akin to that of a bird's.

A Yosuzume, or a Night-Sparrow. A yokai which was rumored to hold dominance among the darkness and the skies, their feathers was said to be able to infiltrate the closest opening in one's eyes and totally blind one to the world, trapping them into a realm of eternal darkness.

Naruto looked over his shoulder, and asked, "What is it... Erisu?"

"Ha." The bird-yokai muttered, testing its voice which was undoubtedly feminine in nature, before continuing with, "My lord Commander. The preparations for the parade have all been completed."

"Good work, Erisu." Naruto smiled at that. He then paused, as he turned to look at his two subordinates, his coat dramatically fluttering in the wind. "Well then, it appears that it is time to make our exit. Let us go, to ride among the night once more."

The mist and fog started to thicken, coming together to cloak the figures above the mountain top from view, boiling together in a veil that blocked all vision. When the mist eventually and finally cleared up, the cliff was found to be empty, void of all beings.

* * *

><p><strong>Kyoto<strong>

Deep within the less savory areas of Kyoto, on a misty, foggy night, a woman was bolting for her life. Panic, fear, terror, each and every one of these dark emotions fueled her, pushing her onwards. For she knew if she was caught, her fate would be worse than death. For she was being chased by the worst of men, the lowest of the dregs of society, the vilest of the scums of humanity, the most despicable trash of mankind.

"Hey, ojou-saaaaan, c'mere! I'll guarantee you'll feel good!"

Rapists.

Repulsion, disgust, revulsion, abhorrence, all of these filled her entire being, as she looked at the the _pigs _behind her. She shuddered to think what they would do to her if they caught up to her. Adrenaline pulsed through her body as she pushed forward, dodging down several back alleys in an attempt to elude her chasers. She continued running, continued racing even when her muscles screamed, even when her body begged to stop, she ran, racing through the dark alleys of Kyoto.

But lust was a powerful motivation. They could drive a human to break the limits of their inhibitions, break the constraints of their normal human body.

She was prey, a pound of flesh merely born to pleasure them. They were the hunters. And the hunters would not be denied their meal.

"Someone... _anyone_... help me!"

She made a left when the road she was running through split into two directions, and despair resounded through her beings when she saw an obstacle. A wall, a barrier that prevented her from running further. She immediately turned around, hoping to double back, when she heard the steps of her demise.

"Hehehe, she certainly gave us a good chase, wouldn't you say, boys?"

A roar of agreement filled the air, as six scruffy vagabonds slowly walked towards her, each of them salivating over her flesh. She stared with fear, with despair, with hopelessness in her eyes. Her eyes diluted in shock, as she witnessed her would-be rapists slowly sauntering over to her. After all, she was trapped, cornered, caged. She had nowhere to run. Nobody would rescue her... her fate was inevitable. She would be violated here, in this dark alley, with nobody the wiser.

She was nobody, and her fate would forever be unknown, would forever be cloaked in blood.

Each step the men took closer to her send pounding reverberations throughout her entire being, as she slowly stepped back, until her back reached the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaking down her face, as she sobbed in silent despair.

She could feel it, the rancid breath of the _scums_ before her as they slowly walked closer, their mind driven by the appetition known as lust. She could feel it, despair, anger, hatred, she lamented her weakness, and most of all, she hated the scums before her. She gritted her teeth in agony, she balled her fists until her nails drew blood, and she resigned to her fate.

"_So this is my fate..._"

**_Click, clack._**

The sound of wooden sandals against the ground resounded throughout the alley.

"Not so."

Two simple words. Like a sword of light through darkness, like a beacon of light in a stormy sea, the two words, delivered in a smooth baritone, instilled hope in the woman who had given up hope. The woman opened her eyes and gasped. For before her was hope, before her was salvation.

"_I-I'm saved..._"

The woman, hope blossoming in her chest, finally blacked out and succumbed to darkness as the exhaustion from her long run took the toll on her.

The six criminals immediately turned around upon sensing a witness to their crime. Hidden by the dark night, overshadowed by moonlight, veiled by darkness and cloaked in a mysterious mist, all they could see was the visage of three figures.

"Who the hell are you?!" One of the criminals, presumably the leader, shouted.

The figure on the left tensed, her hands, formerly hung at her sides, arced upwards, her palm facing her foe and her fingers clutched inwards. "Shall I take care of these trash, my lord Commander?"

The figure on the middle smiled, a smile that promised death. "No... I shall handle this myself. Let this old timer stretch his bones once in a while, Yasaka, Erisu."

Yasaka merely smiled, her eyes crinkled up in amusement, while Erisu lowered her hand, obeying their lord's orders without a single hesitance, without a single question. "If that is your wish..."

"Now..." Naruto cracked his neck, eyes narrowed into tiny slits, "Shall we begin? The endless night is just beginning."

Call it foolhardiness. Courage. Stupidity. Whatever the case may be, the would-be rapists, instead of fleeing like most rational creatures would do, decided to confront the enemy in front of them. It might have made sense to them at that time. After all, it was six against three. What were the odds of the other party's victory?

Thrusting their hands into their pockets and coming out with pen knifes, the six criminals grinned, confident in their victory. The one who stood in the middle, presumably the leader, idly flipping the blade he was holding, sneered derisively. "A hero, eh? HA! How foolish. Now we'll have to kill you. No hard feelings, alright?"

They were remorselessness. Unrepentant. Unregretful.

And therefore - _t__hey must die_.

This was the conclusion Naruto came to. His eyes closed in slight regret, for what he was about to do. For even if nobody would miss them, for even if he despised such beings like those in front of him with every iota of his being, they were still humans, creatures that he had sworn to protect all those years ago. But alas - a cancerous and poisoned limb must be cut off before it spreads and infects the rest of the body. This was a universal fact of life.

The strange, eerie fog grew thicker. Naruto reached to his hips, his hands coveting his blade. He grasped the hilt, holding it with a care reserved for one's precious treasure, and for a few seconds, he stood in a form so fluid it was seamless, as though time itself had frozen in his very presence. His azure eyes glimmered with a harsh light from an unknown star, glinting with wrath, with anger. His eyes blazed.

"Immersed in ecstasy in defiling the weak, a burdensome corpse with no benefit to people. In both of my life as human and yokai, I have witnessed uncountable people like these... like you. And someone possessing these despicable qualities... I will never forgive."

"Who cares about your forgiveness?! Don't say something so impertinent! Get'em, boys!"

"...Die."

Suddenly, he was gone. Vanishing instantly into thin air, whispers of black flames consuming his form, disappearing into the mysterious mist, it was as if his existence itself was erased. He could not be seen, he could not perceived. Yet, they could still hear him, the sound of the wooden clogs meeting the pavement as he steadily approached. The contrast between sight and sound was disconcerting, it was ghostly, it was eerie.

"Wh-where the hell did he go?!" One of them gasped.

_**Click, clack.**_

"I can't see him." Another gasped. "Did he seriously just vanish?!"

"That's impossible!" Another one screamed. "He's there, I can hear him! Bu-but... why can't I see him?!"

Their terror became palpable, each second heightening their fear. Each step the invisible demon took was one step closer to their death. They, who previously brought fear, now felt fear. They, who were the hunters, were now the hunted.

"You can't see... as long as you're trying to see."

And then, suddenly, in the blink of an eye, a flash of silver grey _- akin to that of steel -_ filled the air, his blade coming up in a beautiful arc of pure destruction, his sword cutting through flesh and bone so quick, so fast that only the barest blur could be seen.

And then there was five.

"When a being meets another far greater than itself, it begins to fear that existence and stops noticing it, instinctively placing it on a dimension far above itself. As a result, you are unable to perceive it... even if you can hear it." Naruto continued from where he trailed off.

_Thunk_.

Upon hearing the sound of flesh dropping onto the floor, the remaining five turned around, and saw a horrifying sight. Their dead comrade, standing there as normal, but were strangely missing his hand and spouting blood from the neck like geysers. Cut apart cleanly at the neck, the man's head rolled on the ground, his terrified expression frozen forever on his face.

He felt no pain; he died to quickly to even perceive pain.

"Wh-wh-what the heck?!" They cried out, shocked, fearful.

Another felt him; or rather, felt the silver blade, sensed a brief prick of pain as the sword plunged through his heart, stabbing through flesh and sinew.

And then there was four.

Naruto turned, his blade whirling into motion. He was maelstrom of destruction, a force of chaos, an unstoppable juggernaut. In a flash, he bisected another through the stomach, splitting him into two halves. The man, shocked, looked down on himself, and touched his split body where blood gushed, as if he could not comprehend what had just occurred. He screamed in pain, and his entrails spilled out. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Still another gurgled on his blood when the sword buried itself in his throat, the blade tainting itself in the essence of life, the viscous liquid, the crimson red of blood.

The second last to meet Death was one who possessed the natural instincts of an animal, the ingrained reaction to a dangerous situation. "Flight or Fight". That man chose flight. That was the wisest choice he could make under the circumstances. Unfortunately, his fate have already been sealed, his future predestined. His Death was without mercy.

"_And where do you think you are going?_" The man was cut down into pounds of flesh, grinded to ribbons of meat, chopped into strips of muscle. But by then Naruto had already moved on to his final victim.

And then there was one.

"Ho-how the hell are you doing this?!" The final man screamed, shivering with despair, shuddering with fear. "You monster! Demon!"

The eyes, the eyes of the demon in front of him seemed so hollow, so empty, as if it pierced through his entire being, weighing his existence and judging the value of his soul... and found it lacking, wanting.

"And that... is my power..."

_-Click, clack-_

"AHHHHHH!"

The blade blurred and sheared off the head of the final man, silencing him forever. He toppled to the ground, and knew only silence. Within short order, there were none left to scream.

And then there were... zero.

Materializing back into existence where he stood, looking as prim, as proper as usual, with not a single hair out of place, Naruto sheathed the tainted sword back into its scabbard, silently promising himself to wash it later. He stood up straight, a grim smile of slight regret on himself. He regretted what he did, but recognized the necessity of it.

"The power of..."

The power of the one who created fear, sowed pandemonium, and planted the seeds of chaos and terror in the hearts of mortal men.

"**Nurarihyon**."

* * *

><p>The crimson red liquid that painted the walls. The eerie fog, the haunting beats of steps from a geta, the pale milky orb that hung in the sky. Each and every one of these came together to reflect the haunting beauty of the phantasmagoric night, to paint the scene into one of ghostly, ephemeral and gory beauty. It instilled fear, and inspired awe.<p>

This was indeed... the work of _yokai_.

* * *

><p>"As powerful as usual, Naruto-sama. I see the years of your absence have not waned your powers in the slightest."<p>

"Hm." Naruto walked to the unconscious body of the woman, kneeling down, peering at the sleeping face of the slumbering lady. "You were lucky, woman. I hope you have learned your lesson, not to wander around the shadier parts of the city at night."

The women gave a non-committal grunt in her sleep, as if in reply. Naruto's lips curved up into an amused smile at that.

"Erisu."

"Yes."

"Take the woman to her home, and wipe her memories of this night." Naruto commanded, with the tone of a ruler. "All things yokai are to stay yokai. Even if she only caught the barest glance of us, it is still necessary to wipe any hints that may reveal our existence to humanity. After that, meet us back at the compound."

"As you command, my lord Commander." At that, the Yosuzume disappeared and reappeared next to the resting figure of the woman in a shower of black feathers, the rustle of feathers and the fluttering of wings accompanying the high-speed movement. Grabbing hold of the woman with her hands, Erisu disappeared once again, leaving behind a rain of midnight-black quills, the only proof that the yokai "Yosuzume" once existed in that dark space.

Naruto stood, turning around with a grin on his face. "Well then, let us continue back to the compound. My parade awaits."

Yasaka bowed, before the two beings disappeared in a pool of mist and flames.

And the alley, the blood, the strewn body parts, all hints of a supernatural occurrence eroded into mist. For such was the way of the yokais - a mysterious calamity, an incomprehensible disaster, an illogical catastrophe.

The dark alley was quiet once more.

* * *

><p>"<em>He who possesses the blood of a demon in his veins, reigns supreme in the darkest of night. He who possesses the heart of a human, invokes awe in all who follows under his banner.<em>"

Uzumaki Naruto hummed as he approached the Konoha mansion nestled deep within one of the many districts in Kyoto, alongside Yasaka. It was here where his tumultuous horde resided, protected by hiding in plain sight, amongst the humans. It was quite ironic, for he himself was a yokai of "deception", and was intrinsically linked to a yokai who was most famous for its illusions and "deception".

"Supreme Commander."

Naruto, former human and the Supreme Commander of all Yokais in Japan, looked up as a voice called his title. A woman. Donning a dazzling white kimono, which glittered with a light from an unknown source. It made a perfect match for her cream colored skin. Brown, auburn and honey brown hair framed a face from which grey eyes shone. Holding a _khakkhara _in one hand, she perfected the appearance of a saintly priestess.

"...Seira." Naruto greeted, a smile on his face.

But she was no priest. For within her flowed the rich and thick blood of a yokai, a demon, a creature of the dark.

She was a Hikari-onna, a light-woman. Within her was the ability to conjure light at will and manipulate it to her heart's content. Light was her weapon to wield, her shield to defend, and her toy to play with.

"We have awaited your return, Supreme Commander." The light woman lightly raised her staff and gently tapped it on the ground.

The gates which stood at the mansion's entrance swung inwards to reveal creatures of all sizes, colors, appearances, nature, creatures which spanned only as far as one man's creativity and imagination, creatures which all stood bowing before him as one, their heads inclined in reverence and respect for their returned lord.

Naruto grinned as he walked past his subjects, Yasaka the Kitsune and Seira the Hikari-onna following behind him silently. He was their Supreme Commander, their lord, their leader. They relied upon him for his guidance, his rule, and in return for his gracious rule, he relied upon them for their steadfast loyalty in turbulent times.

A small cyclone of black wind and feathers formed and dispersed behind Naruto, revealing Erisu, who joined Yasaka and Seira in following their lord. "Your orders have been fulfilled, my lord Commander."

"Good." Naruto reached out for sliding paper doors and pushed it aside, walking in with a gait that belied his status, as the true master of the mansion, heading towards the back garden. Already, the lord of all yokais could hear the thunderous roar of his parade, of his army, of his subordinates who celebrated his return.

"My Strategist, Yasaka."

"Here."

"My General, Erisu."

"Present."

"...And my Priestess, Seira."

"At your command."

"_With my Trinity, with my family..."_, Naruto thought to himself, his lips curled up in bemusement. He raised a saucer full of sake to his lips, as he flung open the door separating him from the rest of his clan. "_I am supreme and unstoppable."_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And this is the story idea I was talking about in King of Heroes, Uzumaki Naruto. One where Uzumaki Naruto is a yokai himself. After all, the canon Naruto is intrinsically linked to Kurama who is based on the Kyuubi no Kitsune, one of the most famous yokais of all time(no thanks to Japanese media.)This work, of course, is heavily inspired from the anime and manga Nurarihyon no Mago.  
><strong>

**I admit it, the Trinity idea came from Shakugan no Shana and HunterxHunter.  
><strong>

**Of course, this Naruto is not the "strongest". That would just plain spoil this story.**

**Well, I implemented the poll about the story you all want me to continue the most. Hope to hear from you all soon :)**

**Hope you liked it! Review, thanks :)**


	2. My General: Erisu

**Disclaimer: See prologue.**  
><strong>Warnings: See prologue.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Demons evil? Angels justice? Who was it that decided such things?<em>

**My General: Erisu  
><strong>

_An excerpt from the yokai encyclopedia, Yokai, A Mysterious Calamity, whose author is unknown.  
><em>

_...There are three ways to become a yokai._

_The first, to hold within yourself the deepest, and darkest, and vilest of hatred whilst you spill mortal blood onto the ground. Alternatively, you can be turned by a youkai of great enough power as you stand on the cliff of death. This is the path of humans._

_The second, to embrace your otherworldly heritage as you stand within the crossroads of man and demons, to fall and allow your more sinister and darker instincts override all semblance of humanity. This is the path of half-bloods._

_The third, to be naturally born from two other yokais. This is the path of yokais._

_...Dried blood splotched the rest of the page, rendering further information illegible.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Among the ruins and debris of an old monastery that had fallen out of use and into disrepair... That was where I first met her.<p>

It was a serene night, as the land was overcast by the sea of ebony black that hung among the heavens, the sole source of light the pale silvery white orb suspended in the sky, glowing to grace the land with its bounties, as dark clouds hung in the air in defiance of gravity.

That day, I arrived to investigate the numerous rumors of a monstrous beast who lived in the old monastery who attacked the people of the nearby village. Apparently, the locals had tried numerous times to subdue the beast without much success, only leading to further casualties. The rumors depicted the monster as demonic; a terrifying winged beast.

But what I found there was...

A pale, fragile woman. With hair of purest shade of ivory white, with eyes of crimson red, the woman donned a black scarf that fluttered in the gentle wind. Dressed in a black coat, her foot was covered by black boots. Red sigils snaked its way from her shoulders across her chest, emitting an eerie and mystical power. Exuding an air of ethereal beauty, she was elegant, graceful... And it was obvious hers was an existence not within the realms of all mortal knowledge, wisdom and strength.

That was where I met her... The one who would in the future, become one of my closest confidante. My General.

Yosuzume. Or to call her by the name I gave her...

_Erisu_.

* * *

><p>"Ho? What are you doing here, woman? Are you lost? The way to the village is that way." Naruto pointed his thumb over his shoulder, his eyes peering curiously at the figure before him.<p>

"Get out." The woman curtly said, irritation colored in her tone.

"Ho?"

The red seals of power carved on the woman's chest glowed an eerie red, as an ominous purple wind, infused with an astronomical amount of energy such that it was visible and held a color, the purple of velvet and violet, blew across the debris. "Get out!"

That flash of _youki_ was all the confirmation Naruto needed. "There is no doubt, you are..."

"If you leave now... I'll spare your life." The woman replied, her tone as deadly as any blade. Her presence, filled with killing intent, was a knife so sharp that it would cut anybody that got close to her. She was serious, she meant every words she uttered. Without a doubt, she would not hesitate to attempt to cut him down if he did not do as she said.

"Why..." Naruto curiously asked. "Why did you attack the villagers?"

"...I was only minding my business here. After traveling to and fro, this is where I ended up. But apparently..." She closed her eyes, her face as passive, as icy as ever. "The locals do not approve of my presence here... The presence of a disgusting creature like me."

Naruto kept quiet, his formerly cheery expression slowly melding into one of seriousness, his eyes freezing into glaciers. The woman took this silence and mistook it for disbelief.

"You don't believe me? The words of a monster-"

"You're wrong. I do not believe that you are a monster."

**TH-THUMP! **For an instant, her ruby-colored eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by the sheer conviction the man in front of him held in his words. Without hesitating for a single instant, he disputed her belief. She quickly collected herself, schooling her features back into its icy visage.

"...I am not human. And I am not an animal. Not a god, not an angel, and neither am I a devil. Therefore, the only label left that could possibly classify me is... monster. And if you intend to stop me, a monster..." She trailed off, standing up, her formerly expressionless eyes glinting with wrath, with hatred, with anger. "You'll have to kill me."

Naruto peered into her eyes, his gaze peering deep into her soul, as if searching for something. "You do not regret for a single instant, killing those humans?"

"Don't make me laugh. Regret? Remorse? I am only looking out for myself. They oppress me, calling me a monster, a devil, a demon... How am I wrong for disposing of them?!" She exclaimed, her eyes aflame with an indigo fire. "Towards them, towards those despicable humans who deny my existence, this is my personal justice!"

"Justice, huh? I see..." Naruto muttered to himself, a wry smirk plastered on his face, as if he found something amusing in their conversation. "A man I knew once said to me... We are but men, drawn to act in the name of revenge we deem to be "justice". But when we call our vengeance "justice", it only breeds more revenge... forging the first link in the chains of hatred."

"...I am getting tired of talking to you. If you continue spewing such foolish nonsense..." The flame in her eyes raged into an inferno. "I'll kill you."

"I do not condone those humans' behavior... but neither can I condone such indiscriminate killing. And it seems that you will not listen to reason..." His eyes was tinged with a vague resignment as he reached for the sword held at his hips, pulling it out in a swift stroke, metal grinding against metal, the hissing of steel announcing the blade's release from its sheath. He pointed its edge at the figure before him. "Very well. I shall teach you the error of your ways."

Her eyes followed the blade all the way to the hands that held it, and then further up to the eyes of the man who wielded it.

**_TH-THUMP!_**

An image of her as a child, a small palm pressed up against an eye to staunch the blood from a recent wound, her eyes exuding her anger, her hatred, her despair at the unfair and unjustifiable world. This image flashed through her mind. "You don't understand anything... You..."

She extended her arms, her fingers angled as if grasping an invisible blade, ready to take hold of a blade that had yet to exist in the human realm at that instant. The red lines that curved its way through her body lit up once more, as she exuded a purple miasma of concentrated demonic energy. Indigo and violet flames sparked into existence at each of her palms, each molding and shaping itself into a separate weapon of hellfire and brimstone. Six wings, three pairs of the deepest and darkest black wings sprouted into existence from her back. With a mere glance, Naruto immediately identified what manner of yokai she was.

Yosuzume, a bird yokai that reigned over darkness. It was said that their feathers could infiltrate the closest opening in one's eyes and totally blind one to the world, trapping them into a realm of eternal darkness.

"Preachy types like you... are the worst!"

She lunged, her dual blades screeching against the air as she aimed to decapitate her foe. But her speed, while impressive, was not unmatched. **_CLANG!_** Her opening strike was parried. Two steps. **_CLANG! _**Ten steps into the battle. **_CLANG! _**All of her strikes were blocked, deflected.

"**Sacred Gear**? I see, you were a half-yokai... Those are wonderful blades, strong blades that you are fortunate to still remain possession of..."

She grunted, as she continued swinging her two blades in their dance of death, a competition which held their very lives at stake, all in an attempt to strike a blow against her foe. With her was Rulegnis, the blue blade that held the flames of hell within it, and Fernognis, the violet infernal blade that held the ability to cut into the soul. Twin blades that came together as a set of **Sacred Gears**.

"But even so, even with the strongest weapon in the world, without skill, you cannot obtain victory!"

He blurred, flashing into motion within her guard, his sword up high, ready to strike a deep slash downwards. Now it was her turn to block, her two blades clashing against the single katana of her foe in a contest for strength, for supremacy, for victory as metal screeched against metal. Naruto, eyes narrowed in concentration, jumped back just when the woman overpowered him in their clash of strength.

"What an absurd amount of strength... You are indeed strong, yokai Yosuzume... I am Uzumaki Naruto, the one who will become the lord of pandemonium and master of all spirits in the future! What is your name?"

"...Name? I don't have one of those." She answered in reply, as calm as darkness, her tone inflected with the stillness of water, as if she was merely discussing the weather. "But if one were to define a "name" as "identity", then my "name" would be "monster"."

Naruto held his gaze unflinchingly. "As I have said before, you are not a monster. If you do not have a name, then I shall give you one."

"What?"

"...Erisu. After the Grecian goddess of strife and discord... As a yokai, a being of fear and chaos, that name fits quite aptly."

"...I didn't say will accept being named by you." She quietly complained, her eyes giving away her surprise at the sheer audacity of the man before her to name a stranger he had met. But what was this strange warm feeling in her chest? There was no way she actually liked the name... could she? She was cut off from her musing by Naruto.

"Then, defeat me. Defeat me and you shall be free, be it from the name Erisu or me. But if I were to win, I will have you join my Night Parade... Erisu!"

With the conditions of their battle set, the two beings lunged headfirst into battle once more.

"...With all of my power, I will destroy you." She held Rulegnis, her sapphire-colored blade over her shoulder, as it lit up with a violet flame. Shining brightly in the darkness of night, it glimmered like an unknown star. Without a single ounce of hesitation, she swung, her sword's arc continued by a blade of youki that roared furiously as it sliced through the air to its target. The blade was sharp, wide, and moved at a speed of a speeding car. Without a doubt, a normal being would be dead in an instant. "Mikazukigiri."

But Naruto was not a normal being. He was the lord of all ayakashi and youkai! Master of fear! Creator of chaos!

He raised his sword, and a azure blue-colored ball of youki immediately started forming at its tip, as he channeled his demonic energy through his blade, using it as a conduit for energy. He got into a particular stance, his sword-wielding arm pulled back in preparation for his next move, his sword held parallel to the ground, and thrust. In a motion so sublime that it was obvious it was practiced until it was instinct, in a motion so swift that it resembled an elegant dance, Naruto completed his technique in less than a second.

"Rasengan!"

Both blade and balls of demonic energy left their respective blades and expanded as they flew towards each other. They met in the middle, their clash disintegrating the very earth around them and releasing so much power that the fighters had to brace themselves so as to prevent themselves from being blown away. The energy techniques, releasing a purplish blue light, were too bright to look at, but the light was rapidly decreasing in luminosity as both blade and ball attempted to overcome and erode the other into non-existence.

Both were equal, and both blade and ball dissipated into thin air. But Naruto gauged this faster than the Night Sparrow and immediately charged up and released another ranged Rasengan.

The spiraling sphere of energy punched through the air at a high velocity. In an instant, she realized that the futility of attempting to dodge. She would not be fast enough. In that case, there was only one thing she could do.

"Hiketsu!"

Augmenting her wings with youki, she curled and crossed them before her, all six of them, forming a makeshift shield to defend herself. She stood her ground, and withstood the barrage. The world flashed into white.

"Do you want to stay locked up in here forever? Nothing will ever be resolved this way. As long as you hide from your problems..."

"Such idealistic words..." The light faded to reveal... nothing, that the night sparrow had disappeared. Only a few black feathers that fluttered in the air where the yokai Yosuzume once stood. "You... have not experienced any form of hardship, have you? That is why it is so easy for you..."

A spot of darkness on the ground behind Naruto suddenly glowed an eerie dark purple. Naruto immediately turned around, shock evident in his eyes. A dark figure erupted from the violet portal, sword poised to cut through skin, rend through bone and reap through muscles. "...To spew such nonsense!"

She flew past the blonde, and for an instant, it appeared that she had succeeded in ending the life of her current foe. But it was not to be.

For he was Nurarihyon, Lord of Pandemonium and Fear. The figure of the cut blonde erupted into a black mist, flying and converging onto another spot to reveal the uninjured figure of Uzumaki Naruto.

"I didn't think you would survive that."

A tense silence descended upon the monastery.

"What's wrong? Have you lost your nerve? Unfortunately, it's too late for you. **You're the ones who have made me this way... into this monster. **There is no mercy, from a monster like me."

"You just keep... calling yourself a monster, a demon. Retreating into your shell... It's your own weakness that made yourself a monster! If you want things to change... You should change yourself first. But you have forsaken hope, given up on yourself..." Naruto answered. "You're nothing but a coward."

"More idealistic nonsense..."

"It might be idealistic to you, but it is what I believe. It is the path I follow, and the path I will continue following in the future."

"Well then, I guess that path..." She trailed off, her eyes narrowed. Fernognis, the purple blade, vibrated with a metallic hum, akin to the buzzing of an insect, as it lit itself with a purple flame. She leaped, blurring into motion, her sword brandished for a giant slash. "...Ends here!"

The two duelists met in the middle, sword meeting sword, blade clashing against blade, steel grinding against steel in a contest of strength, of power, of dominance as old or perhaps even older than man. Their fight, it was a dance of death, a whirlwind of destruction, a maelstrom that eradicated any who dared to interfere.

The night sparrow was stronger, yet the lord of fear was swifter. They were evenly matched, so far. Yet why was it... he held such a grin on his face?!

"The longer this match goes on... the more I want you in my Parade... Erisu!" Naruto roared, jubilation dancing in his eyes and joy in his smile. With that, he sped up his blows. "Horahorahorahora!"

_**CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!** _A slash. An overhead cut. A thrust, a stab, a vertical strike. Yosuzume did not have the time to ponder the sheer absurdity of the sudden increase in speed. It was all she could do to hold back the barrage of blows Naruto rained down upon her, her attention solely focused on defending herself from the onslaught.

Yet, with each stroke of his sword, he only seemed to move even faster. The speed and viciousness of his blows was akin to that of a wild beast, a primal, unrefined animal.

For the first time in her life, she realized, "_Ah, I am outmatched._" And yet...

...She did not give up.

Her body twisted and turned, her muscles burned and ached, as she tried her hardest to keep up with the overwhelming assault. She refused to fall. Her pride would not allow it. Keeping up with the onset was no small feat, and it took every ounce, every fiber, every iota of her being to not be completely bulldozed over. Even then, she was slowly but surely losing ground.

Had she been less hard pressed she would surely have noticed the change. Had she been more attentive she would have just conceded her loss and be done with it.

But she didn't.

His boisterous laughter, it invaded her ears, resounded in her mind, echoing throughout her body, as it became twisted by her own mind, her mind distorting it and adding non-existent elements of condescension, warping it into a laugh that held the intent to mock, the intent to ridicule.

**_TH-THUMP!_**

The image of blood, inked onto her eyes, flashed before her mind once more.

"Shut up..."

The laughter, it reminded her of those despicable humans...

"Shut up!"

...Those despicable humans who denied her existence!

"**Shut up!**" She screamed.

She swung her blades with great force, her twin blades swept in an overhead arc as she aimed to pulverize her opponent.

_**CLANG!** _With a sweep of his sword, Naruto met his blade against Yosuzume's two blade once more, in a final clash to decide the victor.

"Ahhhhhhh... AHHHHHHHH!" She screamed and shouted, pushing her entire being into this single strike, her eyes aflame with rage as she tried to overcome her opponent, to destroy, to kill, to eviscerate her opponent!

"...Just because you are sad and lonely... You can't stay holed up in your shell... forever!"

With that, Naruto, _pushed_, and with a sound of shattering glass, broke both Rulegnis and Fernognis, the twin blades of Yosuzume. The Night Sparrow's eyes widened in disbelief. It was that shock which paralyzed her for a mere second.

Taking that small opening, Naruto swung with a kick, launching the bird yokai across the monastery. He lifted his blade, and once more, channeled youki into his sword and forming a spiraling sphere at the tip of his blade... and released.

Grunting in pain, Yosuzume could only gaze at the bright blue light that served to slowly engulf her world, enveloping her in an ocean of azure blue. And she thought, "_Ah, this is my death_."

The world faded into white.

* * *

><p>When the world regained color, it was to the scene of an open clearing, the ceiling and walls of the monastery erased from existence.<p>

Groaning in pain, Yosuzume slowly opened her eyes, her frail figure supported by the debris of the ruined monastery. She gazed at the clouds that floated in the sky, and the beautiful dawn that rose in the distant horizon, gradually lighting up the world.

"There. Now you no longer have a shell to hide in." A familiar voice spoke, directly behind her.

She gritted her teeth, her tone held with rancorous and bitterness. "Why didn't you finish me off? A monster like me?"

"Because you are not a monster... And living in a dark place like that will dim your spirit. Thus, I got rid of the shell binding you... idealistically speaking, that is."

The clouds floated in the air, gently, slowly, patiently.

"Ah... It's always the same..." Her palm tightened around the handle of the ruined sword she was still holding. Her eyes welled up in tears, years of repressed emotions finally taking its toll on her. "Why... why... why doesn't everybody just leave me alone?"

"I... I didn't want to become like this... I wanted to- I tried to change! But... But!"

"_Stop! I'm not a demon!" A small girl screamed, two sets of wings curled up beside her, as she held up her tiny hands in a feeble attempt to defend herself. "I- I just want to become friends!" _

_A black figure walked up to her, his hand tightly gripping and clutching something. He raised up his arm, and threw._

_A rock sailed through the air, smearing the small girl's face with blood. "Why... Why are you doing this?"_

_"You monster! Filthy __abomination! You **half-**__**blood**!"_

_The girl could only whimper in pain and fear, her tiny hands pressed desperately on her head, trying to stop the blood from flowing profusely from her wound._

_"Why..." _

"What should I have done?" She cried. "In the end... I have no place in this world... Despair... and loss... I'm so... tired of it all..."

"...I think we were fated to meet, Erisu." Naruto smiled grimly, images of a pale, androgynous male, a visage of beautiful snow raining down on a misty bridge and facsimile of a mask flashing through his mind. Pictures of an endless desert, of a single-tailed raccoon, of a man hair the color of fire, with a large gourd on his back ran through his mind. Flashes of a small child, with blonde hair standing alone in a void, desperately trying to garner some form of attention from the crowd around him, only to fail.

"_Don't get close to him!_"

The state of not having a place in the world... The condition of living without a dream... The status of not having a purpose for existing... That was a pain, a hollowness he was too well acquainted with.

"There is definitely a place for you in this world. You simply haven't found it yet. And even if you lost your place, you simply have to search for a new one. You... and me. You know, everybody in the world... is simply searching for the value of their existence."

Click, clack. The sound of wooden geta against concrete resounded throughout the clearing. Within her field of vision, a hand slowly reached out to her. Her eyes trailed and followed the hand up along the arm to the eyes of the man who held it out, the cerulean blue orbs that held such warmth, such acceptance. "And if you are still searching for a purpose, how about coming with me? How about it? Want to turn the world upside down, and search for the purpose of our existence along the way? For our place in this world?"

"You... did you plan for this all along?"

"Well... who knows?"

That hand... looked so warm, so inviting... so... welcoming...

"Really... you preachy types... you preachy types... really are..." A tear welled up in her eyes, trailed down her face and dropped to the ground. "...the worst."

She reached out for that hand that looked so warm.

"Hahaha! Let's turn Kyoto and the world upside down, Erisu! To fulfill my dreams, my ambitions! For the sake of a world where humans and ayakashi can coexist!" Naruto turned around, laughing uproariously. "Alright, let's go! Hahahahaha!"

And Erisu found that she could not take her eyes off her future lord's back. For she found it so dazzling, amazing, awe-inspiring, breathtaking. She found it so... _magnificent_. She was taken in by the great ardor, the sheer intensity of Naruto's presence. Even if she was physically stronger, she felt as if...

She was no match for him.

_"Ahh... So this is the rumored "fear" of the Lord of Pandemonium..."_

_~ Fin ~_

* * *

><p><strong>Mikazukigiri - Crescent Moon Beheading. A sword technique that is utilized by channeling youki through a blade, and slashing with it. At the instant of the slash, the demonic energy is compressed and released, forming a blade that flies forward.<strong>

**Rasengan - Spiraling Sphere. A technique that is utilized by channeling youki through a conduit. As its name implies, it creates a spiraling sphere of energy, that spins in multiple directions at once at a high velocity. The compacted nature and moving speed of the energy allows it to grind and erodes whatever it comes into contact with into dust. With experience, one is able to utilize it as a ranged technique. **

**Hiketsu - Rejection. A technique that involves creating a shield through a body part, and augmenting its defensive prowess through youki, hence "rejecting" any damage.  
><strong>

**A/N: This was originally intended to accompany the fight with Kokabiel, so this was originally supposed to be around 7k words, before I decided to split it and elaborate on how Naruto "acquired" his Trinity first before going into the story. **

**On a side note, I have entered the compulsory tertiary education in my country and hence, updates might be scarce. I apologize, and do hope all of you can put up with me :)**

**RESTIA**


	3. My Priestess: Seira

**Disclaimer: see prologue  
>Warnings: see prologue<strong>

* * *

><p><em>The betrayal you can see is trivial. The betrayal you cannot see is much more fatal, frightening, lethal...<br>_

**My Priestess: Seira  
><strong>

I was born with beauty, talent, and power. In all honesty and without hubris, I can say that I am a special person. Blessed three-fold, they called me. A genius of the highest caliber, they called me. And because of this blessing, I was reared to be the perfect heiress to the Akatsuki clan of onmyojis, practitioners of the art of onmyodo, Japanese magic used to exorcise youkais.

Indeed, one could say that I was born with the sole purpose of inheriting the Akatsuki clan. I had no real purpose of my own. The meaning of my own existence was decided by my family before I was even born - to eventually take up the mantle of leadership of the Akatsuki clan. I was made to usher in a new age for the Akatsuki clan.

Since the young age of five, the head of the clan decreed me to be sent for training - all to mold me to become the quintessential leader. The oldest memory I had was of me training and learning. While others laughed and played with their toys, I underwent rigorous training. How to present myself, tea ceremony preparation and presentation, flower arrangement skills, the onmyodo techniques of the Akatsuki clan, everything was drilled into me... for the sake of the ideal and faultless leader.

During what little breaks I had, I often looked towards the streets from the balcony of the Akatsuki mansion, gazing distantly at the sights of children my age frolicking about, laughing in joy. And I always felt a distant sense of hollowness, a faint tinge of envy and resentment towards those children. I wondered, what made those children different from myself? Why were they able to play while I had to engross myself in my studies? As I looked at them prancing about in the playgrounds, I found myself whimsically wishing that I could join them and bask in the same joy. I found myself cursing my "blessing". If only it wasn't for those, I could have been a normal child..!

I was a bird caged in a prison of expectations and ideals. I was a hollow creature who held the expectations of those around me, and had none of my own.

As I grew up, I eventually forgot about the whims I had as a child, forgetting the childish dreams of one day escaping the clan, discarding and suppressing the part of me that wanted to form friends with the children outside. My sole purpose was to become the leader of the clan, and the reason of my existence was to lead the clan... this was what I eventually thought.

"_Remember, Seira... We are white. We, the onmyojis, are the light that protect the people. We are justice. The yokais are black. They are the darkness that pervade every corner. They are evil._"

It was these principles, these belief that onmyojis were justice and youkais were evil that I was brought up with. Hence, as I adopted these beliefs, I exorcised any youkais I was commissioned to without any mercy. Sometimes they were large, malevolent, and easy to banish without remorse... and sometimes they were small, pitiful creatures, whom were merely at the wrong place at the wrong time. But I indiscriminately killed them all, because I believed that they were all evil.

On the surface, I was perfect. As I fitted every aspect of the ideal onmyoji the higher-ups of the Akatsuki clan held, it was confirmed that I was to be the forty-forth head. I was exemplary and the model all onmyojis should aspire to be, I held strength, beauty, talent - therefore I was to be the leader.

One could say I was blessed.

But beneath the facade, I was cracking. Beneath my demure and gentle personality I showed to the world, I was stumbling beneath the weight, the pressure of what it meant to be "perfect". But I persevered, all for my false goal of eventually leading the Akatsuki clan.

I ignored the fact that I did not know what else to do after I became the head. For I wholeheartedly believed that being the perfect heiress to the clan was my only role, my only reason to exist.

I ignored the fact that I had no personal hobbies, no dreams, no aspirations of myself. For I wholeheartedly believed that being the perfect heiress to the clan was my only role, my only reason to exist.

Eventually, during the winter, I turned eighteen, the age when I was to ascend to onus of leadership. The day before, I was sent out with a group of my fellow clansmen to exorcise a malevolent spirit residing in the western regions of Japan, near the city of Kyoto.

It was perfect. I was to return, victorious, to celebrate the "honored heiress" becoming the forty-forth head of the Akatsuki clan. I was to take part in the ceremonial ritual commemorate my coming of age, which was when my grandfather then would pass on the position and responsibility of the head to me. My "dream" was to be realized.

But it was not to be.

* * *

><p>It was winter.<p>

"Haja Rengekifu!"

I shouted desperately, my hand weaving through the motions for an onmyodo art. A pale white magical circle formed at my front, summoning a swarm of charms that emerged and threatened to drown my foe beneath it. Each of these charms were poisonous and toxic to a youkai, just as holy light is to devils.

However, I was in a precarious situation. What was originally a squad of five, was whittled down to a two, and out of this two, one was responsible for sustaining a barrier to isolate the battle from the world. In other words, I was now facing the youkai alone. I had no time to grieve for them - for the moment I stopped, I would die.

As the wave of charms neared the youkai, it only smirked, condescension and disdain in its eyes. The charms collided with the youkai and the ground, tossing up debris and smog in the resulting explosion.

I took the momentary lull in the battle to compose myself, gulping down as much air as I could for the next engagement. For no matter how much I hoped so, I knew that the battle was not over. It was not for the first time that I cursed an oni's durability.

As the smog gradually let up and faded away, a silhoutte of the oni, a hulking and towering horned beast with fangs and forked tongue, akin to that of snakes appeared. One of its hands grasped a huge and thick club that threatened to smash one's heads into splatters of blood should it connect. It was this beast that emerged unharmed from the explosion, gutturally growling.

"Guhaha! Is that all you got, onmyoji of the Akatsuki?! You disappoint me!"

I grimaced. Haja Rengekifu was one of my strongest technique - strongest in the sense that it was almost unparalleled in the capacity to slay a youkai. Yet, even that was not enough? I started to wonder if I could even handle this yokai alone...

No.

Do not think that way.

_"Think only of the opponent before you, and slay it with every ounce of your power. That is the only thing that matters. Do not waver. Do not hesitate."_

The words of my mentor, my grandfather resounded throughout my head.

_"Yokais are evil. We are justice."_

If this yokai were to left unchecked, it would only continue its rampage - leading to greater casualties. This was a monster, one who held no remorse in its action. This was an abomination, one who felt nothing in trampling over innocent lives. There was nothing to think about. All I had to do was to exorcise this yokai. With that in mind, I closed my eyes and concentrated on gathering power into my palms, channeling reiatsu, the power of the soul, the energy which all onmyoji used for onmyodo, to fuel my technique.

"Taima Ryuuseifu." I calmly uttered out the name of the onmyodo art.

"Ho?" The oni let out a sound of interest, its supernatural sense, which every being who were in some way affiliated to the "paranormal" possessed, alerting it to my use of reiatsu.

Calmly opening my eyes, I focused only on my foe, and burst towards it in a single step. The oni only smirked, holding up its club, gladly welcoming me to the duel.

"Guhahaha!"

It swung, each smash of its club colliding with the ground to throw pellets of snowy earth upwards. It took all I had to evade, and attack with my hands with what small openings that lingered. This youkai was indeed... powerful. There was no doubt in mind that this youkai was the strongest I had ever encountered before in my life. But...!

It was not swift enough to evade my attacks - attacks that, as an onmyodo art, held the power to exorcise it.

**THUD!**

My fists met flesh. But I did not stop there, I continued attacking, releasing a barrage of punches towards my foe. Even so, even with my fists imbued with reiatsu, my fists felt like they were punching through a wall of steel. That was how strong and thick an oni's hide was. It was then my instincts screamed at me - _something was coming! - _and I quickly jumped back. Not a moment sooner, the ground I previously occupied was smashed, creating a small crater at the point of impact.

"Gu... What did you do?!" The oni let out a roar of rage and pain. On the surface, it looked relatively unharmed, only the barest of scratches marring its body. But I knew better.

Taima Ryuuseifu was a technique that imbued one's fist with reiatsu, then surgically inserting it into an enemy's body through a point of impact, the current case being my landed punches. And as reiatsu, the energy used for onmyodo, was akin to poison to youkais, Taima Ryuuseifu could be used to bind or destroy a yokai from the inside. In other words, Taima Ryuuseifu was a technique that adapted ordinary martial arts for combat against youkai.

The reiatsu I injected into the oni previously was quickly proving to be effective, as proven by the beast's loud roar of pain. But I knew that would not be enough to kill it... This oni had proved time and time again its defense was far stronger than its brethren.

The yokai's eyes, two red orbs of fire, then tunneled ominously onto me. Without a warning, it charged, and in an instant, the giant oni was right at my front, its arm raised up ready to deal a final blow, to smash me into a bloody smear on the earth.

_Fast_.

That was what I thought, as time seemed to compress around me. As my eyes barely tracked the giant's motion, I quickly judged that the oni's attack was too fast for me to evade. In that case...!

"Kekkai Kikyou!"

A spherical dome of purple energy formed in an instant, as wisps of purple light carved shapes of bellflowers in the resulting barrier. Within a second, the oni's club crashed downwards, clashing against my barrier in an attempt to reach me. But my barrier did not yield.

I frowned. We were too evenly matched. I could evade or block all of its attacks - and it could just weather through all of mine. At this rate, this stalemate would continue until either I made a fatal mistake or when the damage it took accumulated until it was too much for its body to bear. It was simply a contest of attrition. And if so, I was sure to lose. After all, the limits of the human body can only stretch so far. Hence, I had to end the battle soon, as quickly as possible. In that case...

"You're better... better than the others, at least, Akatsuki onmyoji. I will give you at least that." The yokai before me spoke, its eyes glinting in a menacing rage as its club vibrated with a huge force, attempting to cleave through my barrier. "But why do you continue to fight? Knowing that your inevitable fate... is death, just like the others?"

"Who do you fancy yourself as, oni?" I quietly asked back, my voice a mere whisper on the wind. "The new Demon King? Killing, butchering, mindless destruction. I fight because I know that if I don't, you will continue your merciless rampage and slaughter many more innocent lives."

"...So you are one of those, huh? Those who "fight to protect", or some such nonsense? Guhahahah!" It snarled out, condescension obvious in its tone. "What a joke. This is the difference between us... The difference is that I have never once fought for a being outside of myself! The strong lives! And the weak... dies!"

"...I expected nothing else from a vulgar beast such as yourself." I muttered. "Enough talking. Your rampage ends here."

I would have preferred not to use this technique. Because not only was it taxing, this technique was only capable of senseless destruction... the destruction that I abhorred. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no other recourse. Only sheer brute force would be enough to pierce through the defensive prowess of this oni. The battle had proved that time and time again.

"...Foolish!" The oni continued its mechanical bashing against my barrier. But that was fine, it only gave me time to prepare my technique. Slowly and carefully manipulating the flow of my reiatsu, I molded it into a shape compatible for my next - and hopefully last - technique. Gracefully moving my hands in a complex motion, I created a magical circle in front of me, and focused my reiatsu into the magical circle. "No matter what you do, it is futile!"

"...Take this."

A faint orb of light gathered before my magical circle, and a howling gale emerged. A brilliant flare of light, an unmerciless flash of aura roared from my magical circle, a missile that sought to consume everything within its trajectory. The attack I unleashed was a beast, starving to bring about utter ruination to everything and anything.

"Akatsuki-ryuu ougi: Dai Konran."

Even as I said that, it was merely a beam of light, a thick laser of pure reiatsu. It held no complexity, no trickery, no intricateness. I failed to see why this technique was called a secret art of the Akatsuki style of onmyodo... But it was not my place to question it. I closed my eyes as light consumed the world.

When the light let up, it was to the sight of an empty battlefield. My opponent was instantly incinerated, consumed by the overwhelming power that I brought out. It died instantly.

"Ahh... Finally, it's over... I'm so exhausted..."

...

...

...

**STAB!**

It happened so swiftly, so silently, I did not sense it until the act had happened and pain flared in my chest. Unbelievingly, I looked down and saw a small silver dagger protruding from my chest.

What...? There was another youkai?

I slowly turned my head, and the sight chilled me to my bones, created a pit of indescribable despair within me.

My eyes slowly traced the path of the palm holding the blade's hilt, along the way to the shoulders, then further up to meet the eyes of the man who wielded the dagger. The stabber was the final of my clansmen remaining in the battle... my brother, Akatsuki Daichi. His eyes glared at me with a wrathful animosity, like a light from an unknown star. And all I could utter was...

"...Why?"

My brother did not deign me with a response. He merely gazed at me with those disdainful eyes, and pulled the blade out from my chest. Like a marionette who had its strings cut, I collapsed to the ground. I struggled to lift my head, and only witnessed the sight of my brother, my murderer turning his back to me, walking away and leaving me to die here. He stopped after a few steps, and uttered a single sentence.

"Your removal was required for me to become the forty fourth head."

Ahh... So, this was your motivation... To usurp my position as the heir of the clan...

It was then a feeling previously unknown to me began to well up in me.

After all that I did for them...!

After all my efforts...!

After all my work...!

A great surge of negative emotions began to emerge, and like a torrent, it refused to abate. Clutching my fists, for the first time in my life, I began to curse my life, my family, everything with every ounce of my being. The hatred which I had previously repressed, the hatred for the world that had oppressed me so, began to reach its peak and burst explosively.

I screamed a defiant cry to the world, as blood slowly trickled down from my lips, painting my skin with red. "...Do all of you really want... the position of the head that badly?! You all want the leadership so desperately? You would crush my life... Do none of you feel any shame at all?! I won't forgive you... I won't forgive any of you for this! All of you, cursed Akatsuki onmyojis who would trample over my life for personal gain... Let my blood taint your dreams! Let the Akatsuki clan be cursed! Let its existence brings ruination!"

Panting in the effort it took for me to scream, I clenched my blood-soaked fist and shook it at the back of my brother. "For your sins, I put a curse on you! Curses on you! Akatsuki Daichi! I will make certain you pay for it! I curse your bloodline for all eternity. For many generations to come... Your sons, your daughters, your grandchildren... And when you fall into the deepest depths of Yomi..."

And as my rage grew, I failed to notice that my auburn brown hair began to meld into white, and grey eyes, started to tinge with a mad red. I failed to notice when the ground around me turned black and bubbled ominously. And I failed to notice when a tendril of darkness shot out and stabbed my murderer in a swift lunge. All I could do was curse this unfair world.

"Remember my rage! The rage of this Akatsuki Seira!"

The world then faded to black.

* * *

><p>The leaders of my clans had forgotten one important fact - the darkness that was sown in the deepest nature of humanity.<p>

I was too perfect. Too perfect in both mind and body. I was too perfect, that in the end, I received curses from my own clansmen - people who, before then, I "believed" with all of my heart to be my family. People who I "believed" would have never betrayed me.

...But I was only lying to myself. I had already knew of the dark and less than flattering remarks my fellow onmyojis muttered about me. But I deluded myself, choosing to hope that one day - I could become the "perfect" leader, and when that happened, all of them would finally accept me.

How foolish I was. How naive I was. How idealistic I was. Perhaps deep down, I was simply a lonely girl who yearned for acceptance, who wanted friends above everything else, who simply wished for normality... A bird who wished to escape the cage of forced expectations.

Once again, I found myself cursing the talents that I was born with, the brilliance that I was lauded and exalted for in my clan.

_Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns hatred... And after that, with hatred, finally comes the deadliest blade of all... The unseen blade, betrayal._

* * *

><p><em>What is this? Everything was pure black. Everything was utter darkness, like the abyss of the sea. I was immersed, submerged in a river of unfiltered darkness. I can feel it, the sensation of liquid darkness as it runs over me, covering every ounce of my being, driving itself into my very soul. Darkness... not evil. Somehow, that differentiation came to my mind.<em>

_How long have I remained here, floating in this sunless depth? How long more must I wait, in this ichor of darkness, plunged below in this deluge of black mud? _

_I traveled down the river, the subterranean darkness without direction or a sense of passing time in what felt like an ethereal and transient dream, waiting for what felt like endless eons to awake once more. It could have been any amount of time, from seconds, to minutes, to hours, to days...  
><em>

_Maybe years? Even a decade was possible..._

_Time seemed to flow on seamlessly, endlessly marching forward..._

* * *

><p>When I woke up once more, it was cold.<p>

"Ahh, its cold."

I lied among the snow, my eyes facing the dark sky that was the heavens, watching blankly as the clouds flitted past without a care.

"Ahh, its... really... cold."

Among the cold wintery background, upon the expanse of endless snow that seemed to stretch on infinitely... I thought to myself, "So this is death..."

Snow gently fluttered down from the heavens, painting the world in white. Under the dark night sky, I was alone in the endless world of cold and white. It was a serene night, one of utmost tranquility. And it was on this night, alone on this world of eternal snow where I would meet my end.

Using the last bits of strength I had left, I gripped the snow around me and held it up to the sky, watching as the snow, colored red with blood, my blood, trickled through the gaps of my fingers like sand in an hourglass...

"Beautiful... red... snow..." I muttered, my thoughts jumbled. I felt hollow, empty, the rage that had invigorated me so had all but evaporated into thin air. Lethargy and weakness plagued my being, and strength slowly sipped out of my body as each second passed. I closed my fingers, as if grabbing an object invisible to all but myself, and wondered, "Why?"

"Why... was I betrayed?" The words spilled forth from my lips, raspy and coarse. "...What... did I do wrong?"

"_Remember, Seira... We are white. We, the onmyojis, are the light that protect the people. We are justice. The yokais are black. They are the darkness that pervade every corner. They are evil."_

_"Of course, Grandfather."_

Those words of my former master and grandfather flitted through my mind at that instant. "...If we were justice... why did they betray me? Isn't betrayal a crime? Does that mean that I - I am an evil, I am black, thus betraying me is justice instead?"

I had always lived my life, true to ideals I believed in, protecting the weak from evil. Yet, at the very end, I was betrayed by my fellow kin. Why... why, why, why... Deep down, I knew the answer to my own question, but I denied it, refusing it to surface to my thoughts, if only to hold on to that last shred of faith I had in humanity.

"Ah... its... so... cold..."

I inhaled, and exhaled.

"Ah... it hurts..."

Yet, even the simple motion of breathing became painful for me. My lungs ached from the supreme effort that I needed to put forth to live for even an instant longer. I briefly wondered why I didn't simply give up and let go, but that though was soon washed away by another wave of pain. The world began to blur. I gazed at the dark sky for a while longer, feeling the trickle of blood that spewed profusely from my chest from a wound, inking the snow with its red.

The clouds began to slide in and out of focus, and the world started spinning. I blinked. Drowsiness crept over me, urging me to submit to eternal rest. But I refused. I wanted to look at this world, this vast sky for just a little while longer.

"Ha..." I let out a brief gasp of pain. Even my voice seemed distant to me now. Everything would end soon. Yes... soon, everything would disappear. I gazed at the gentle rain of snow, awaiting the ending to my story.

"If this is death, it isn't so bad." I thought to myself, as everything became muted. My strength was leaving me, and even the pain that wrecked my body, warning me of my demise, was leaving me, leaving behind a strange numbness and hollowness within me.

It was fine. It would soon be over. Nothing mattered to me anymore. Any hopes I had for the future, any emotions I once held, even the thoughts of my traitorous clansmen soon turned to ice.

_**Clip, clop.** _The sound of gentle steps on snow resonated through the air.

"Ahh, I must be dreaming." Yes, that was the only explanation I could offer to myself. The shock of my coming death must have caused me to hallucinate, to hope for a savior. But that was impossible. For I was in the middle of nowhere, the cold and snow my sole company.

_**Clip, clop. **_Again, that curious echo reverberated through the clearing. And it was getting annoying very quickly, spoiling my final view of the world. How ironic, that even my own delusional creations wouldn't let me die in peace.

Within the deep recesses of darkness my mind had receded to, I wished that that annoying sound would just disappear.

"Ho?"

I started, surprised at hearing an unknown voice here, in the middle of nowhere. It sounded too realistic, too lifelike to be an illusion. Grunting with effort, I arced my back and looked towards the source of the voice.

...A yokai. With a glance, I could see the bubbles of youki that simmered beneath the facade of a human which the youkai in front of me took. And that youki took my breath away.

The sheer, astronomical amount of youki superseded any youkai I had ever met before in my entire life, even the oni which I fought previously. Instinctively, I knew that this youkai was not to be trifled with. Intuitively, I knew this youkai to be a leader, one whom stood at the helm and commandeered a parade of youkais.

And that scared me. After all, I was powerless, weak before him, a yokai, a creature that was the natural enemy of all onmyojis. Naturally, that included me. My life, or what sliver was left of it anyway, was his toy to play with.

But I could not look away. His gaze connected with mine, curiosity embedded in those blue gems, steadfast and never wavering. It was as if he was examining every facet of my soul, judging my existence and weighing it upon a scale.

"...Interesting. I didn't think that I would meet anybody out here in the middle of nowhere, much less a fair maiden much like yourself. What is your name?"

"...Seira, Akatsuki Seira." I muttered, carelessly. I normally wouldn't give up my name to random strangers off the road, much less to a youkai that was supposed to be my enemy. But I no longer cared about anything, I simply wished to submerge myself into the never-ending slumber that waited to welcome me into its grasp.

"Hmm, an onmyoji, huh?"

I tensed at his words. I gritted my teeth, focusing a little bit to glare at the youkai. If I was to die in front of him, I would die fighting the only way I could now, by glaring at him.

But I could never have foreseen his next words.

"Kahahah! What fire, what resolve. You are really... interesting! Hey, you. Do you want to live?"

"...What?" I gasped, shock at what had just spilled forth from his lips reverberating through my being. Did I want to live...? What a ridiculous question! Of course I wanted to live! I am human, the urge to live is hammered into me even before my existence! Scrounging up the last of my strength I gasped out, "Of.. of course I want to live!"

"...Even if it is as a youkai?"

That question stunned me for a moment. Live... not as a human, but as a youkai? A creature that sowed the seeds of fear and terror in mortal men, terrorizing in the night? A... demon?

I wanted to say no, but an invisible force stopped my impetuous response. Looking back at it now, I thanked whatever force that stopped me that day.

Youkais were black. They were darkness. They were evil. That was what I had been taught from young, what had been hammered and nailed into me since birth, what I had been raised with, what I had been indoctrinated to believe. The sole belief that youkais were black, were evil, were darkness. The sole belief that onmyojis were white, were just, were light.

_But is that really true?_

I was betrayed by those of "justice", and I lied here, in this snowy world of white, alone. My fate was undoubtedly death. And I wanted so badly to smash that "fate" to pieces. But did that single wish justify becoming a youkai... a demon, an apostle of evil?

_But are youkais really evil?_

A shadow of myself whispered, quested me with those questions. Are youkais really evil?

...And are onmyojis really justice?

I didn't know. After all, my entire world, built upon the foundations that were my beliefs had just been shattered a few hours ago.

"You have two choices now, Akatsuki Seira. Embrace the shadows and join my Parade... or die in darkness! Here, and alone, in this never-ending cold!"

...I didn't want to die. To live was an instinct, a natural urge that all creatures of life held. This was one of the natural law of the world, an undeniable fact of life, an undebatable principle of the universe. A universal law of nature which holds true even throughout time. But to pick the first choice would be a gamble. After all, what was to say that this yokai before me would not betray and toss me away after my use had run out, just like my fellow clansmen had done?

Suddenly, his face appeared, inches away from my own, staring with an intensity that rivaled a thousand suns. My eyes widened in shock, as I was caught unaware by the sudden motion.

"Let me be clear to you now, Akatsuki Seira. I _want _you. I _need_ you. So entrust your mind, body and soul to me, and join my Parade!"

"...Wh-wh-what-" I stuttered, amazed and incredulous at what the yokai before me had just said. I quickly calmed myself, schooling my features into their previous tranquility. I couldn't believe how this man - no, this yokai could say such things with such a straight face. Taking a deep breath to collect myself, I opened my eyes and asked, "...What exactly is your goal?"

"Kahahaha! You wish to know my goal? The goal of I, Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Nurarihyon, future lord of all spirits and master of pandemonium? Interesting! Very well! I shall tell you! My goal is simple! To defend this land from any who wish to harms its denizens, and to carve out, with my own two hands, a world where both humans and ayakashi can coexist!" Naruto stood up and roared out his dreams to the heavens, without a single hesitance or uncertainty in his tone. "And to those who dares to impede my way, I shall destroy them with every ounce of my power!"

...A world where both humans and ayakashi can coexist? Impossible! There is no way such a convenient world can ever be realized!

...But I found myself captivated by his resolve, his unwavering spirit, his sheer determination towards what others would normally call a laughable and foolish goal. I found myself in awe at how he could utter such ridiculous words, words that would be construed as a "child's fantasy" so decisively. And I found myself - believing that if it was him - he could do it. Create such an impossible world, one where humans and yokais, light and darkness, sun and moon could coexist together.

This yokai, his resolve, it screamed and thundered of friendship, of love, of glory, of triumph. Like lightning, it struck me and carved itself into my mind, creating an unforgettable impression. It was in that instant which I wished more than anything to see that impossible and contrasting world come into realization.

His hand reached out, his palm an invitation to join him in his _foolish _and _impossible _quest. "Join me. What do you say, Akatsuki Seira?"

"...How unfair..." I muttered to myself, trying to still my beating heart. "To say such a thing... To give me such a purpose to strive for... Something I wished for everyday... Really... how... unfair..."

I reached out for his hand, my lips curling up into a slight smile. "...Very well... Lord of Pandemonium... I shall accompany you to the helm as Supreme Commander of all ayakashi, and that impossible world...!"

"Supreme Commander? That sounds nice. Very well! Let us follow this impossible path, and carve out a legend together, Seira! Kahahahaha!"

How ironic. To think that I, Akatsuki Seira, the prime candidate to take up the mantle of the forty-forth head of the illustrious Akatsuki clan of onmyojis, would become a yokai herself... But this was a decision which, at that instant, I could not find it in myself to regret. For I had already fallen, fallen, fallen for this man's charisma...

__Ahh... So this is the rumored "fear" of the Lord of Pandemonium...__

* * *

><p><strong>Haja Rengekifu - Conqueror's Charm. By channeling reiatsu into a magical circle, uncountable charms are pulled from a subspace and launched as a barrage towards a foe, each poisonous to a yokai.<br>**

**Taima Ryuuseifu - Exorcising Falling Meteor. By channeling reiatsu into the hands or the legs, reiatsu is directly injected into a foe's body via any points of impact, thus poisoning any yokais from the inside. The reiatsu injected can be used to bind or destroy a yokai from the inside.  
><strong>

**Keikkai Kikyou - Bellflower Barrier. A technique that creates a spherical barrier with sigils of bellflowers out of reiatsu, this technique's defensive prowess is one of the best among all onmyoji barrier-type techniques. However, this barrier thus not extend below the ground. **

**Akatsuki-ryuu ougi: Dai Konran - Akatsuki style secret technique: Pandemonium - A simple beam of reiatsu that incinerates anything that it comes into contact with. However, its large feedback would incapacitate the caster afterwards, which would be deadly if the target had managed to evade it.  
><strong>

****A/N:** Second chapter of the "Trinity" trilogy, my attempt to characterize my two OCs and Yasaka abit more first before the main story. Nothing much to say here. I apologize for the delays between updates, but my studies takes priority. Do put up with me, :)**

**RESTIA**


	4. My Strategist: Yasaka

**Disclaimer: see prologue  
>Warnings: see prologue<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Fire is the bringer of life, the apostle of creation. Fire can be a gentle flame that warms and comforts. But take heed - fire can also be the tidings of death, the harbinger of destruction. Fire can also be a vicious flame that burns and consumes.<br>_

**My Strategist: Yasaka**

Amidst the burning wreckage of an unknown town in federal Japan, the figure of a young and beautiful woman could be found alone, staring at the flames with eyes that shone blankly. This woman emanated a curious aura of power and strength that belied her existence as one of not belonging within boundaries of mortality. Dressed in a shrine priestess outfit, with nine curious tails that seemed to dance in the shadows, this woman stood under the night sky and stared at the flames, as they flickered in a hypnotic dance.

Yasaka, Kyuubi no Kitsune, a fox-like yokai whom strength were determined by the number of tails they had, found herself in a conundrum. With each passing day, she could feel the urge within her grow stronger, awaiting the day where it would override her senses. The instinct to destroy, to devastate, to crush the world beneath her power... It was this lust for carnage that was starting to overwhelm her self-control and unhinging her with each passing day.

"Once again..."

She was too strong, gained her strength, her tails too fast that she was unable to cope and control the instincts that came with such strength. With powers that came with having nine tails, she awakened an instinct - the raw and primal instinct to bring everything into utter ruination. She thirsted for destruction, and lived to mercilessly crush, shred and slice her opponents. The strength that she gained from being a "Kyuubi" aroused the honed instinct that slumbered deep within her psyche to brutally kill, to slaughter, to eviscerate and to destroy everything. She yearned for blood, and desired nothing more than to drown the world in a sea of flames.

She was a berserker, one whom sought nothing but to endlessly kill, to eternally wreck destruction.

"...Another town set on fire... Another village, I have burned... "

She could feel it - the pure urge to destroy and devastate, to burn everything and anything, to immolate everything in a conflagration, it was this base urge that grew stronger day by day, slipping through erected barriers of her mind and attacked her sanity, gently coercing and seducing her to give in into those destructive instincts. It was torturous, it was excruciating, it was agony trying to suppress these impulses.

"These flames... They flare brightly, and consumes everything... It can't protect... It only destroys..."

She was a beast - an advent of the apocalypse, the visitation of destruction. She looked up to the sky blankly, and wondered, "When will this end... When will I be able to control these powers? When will I stop... bringing about mindless destruction? I don't want to kill anymore... Yet, I don't know when I will end up killing again..."

She was without a doubt, a monster. A creature who brought forth naught but destruction. But can a monster who feels remorse truly be called a monster?

"Ashes... to ashes... Dust... to dust..."

**_Click, clack._**

The sound of wooden sandals against ground resounded throughout the air. A figure walked into the clearing, fading through flames and shadows as if they were non-existent. This figure, clad in a curious red leather cloak with designs of black flames sewed on the hemline, with a golden mane for hair and sapphire orbs for eyes, emitted an aura of strength that revealed his existence as something beyond the realm of mortality. This figure... was Uzumaki Naruto.

Stopping upon seeing the woman before him, Naruto let out a curious grunt. Yasaka turned, fixing her gaze at the man before her, her eyes vacant and empty.

"...Leave..." Yasaka spoke, her tone harsh, her words laborious. Digging her claws into her palm, trying to focus on the pain it brought in an attempt to stave off her rising instincts. "...Go away... Before... I end up... killing you."

_Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill._

The urge to kill once again rose from within Yasaka's mind, threatening to take over her rationality at the sight of another living creature. The world began to meld into red, as a strange fog-like haze settled upon Yasaka's mind.

_Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill..._

Naruto merely stood there, his gaze appearing to peer deep into Yasaka's soul, as if searching for something. As seconds passed, the voices in Yasaka's head resounded louder and louder, demanding her to draw blood. Her eyes, the color of amber honey, faded into a fiery and bloodthirsty scarlet.

_**Kill, kill, kill, kill, KILL, KILL, KILL!**_

"...I'm going to kill you!" Yasaka screamed, lunging towards her prey, her claws, as sharp as any blade, streaking through the air to mercilessly shred her foe. In an instant, she was right in front of her foe, her body angled diagonally, her claws raised upwards ready to rend and butcher her foe into bloody pieces of flesh. Eyes alight with a feral and frenetic bloodlust, she swung her claws downwards.

_**CLANG!**_

Within a split second, in a motion so sublime spoke of years of practice until it was instinct, in a stroke so swift it resembled an elegant dance, Naruto unsheathed his blade from its scabbard and swung it upwards, the metallic dissonance announcing the clash between blade and claw as Yasaka's cleave was parried. Behind his blade, Naruto spoke, "I see... You possess incredible strength, incredible speed. For a moment, I thought I was about to die."

"Who... who are you?" Yasaka's eyes narrowed as she gutturally growled out. "You are... not normal."

"Me? I am Uzumaki Naruto, the one who will ascend to the onus of Sixth Nurarihyon, and the one who will become the future lord of pandemonium and master of all spirits! What is your name, Kyuubi?"

"...Yasaka."

"Very well, Yasaka! For my ambition, I will require strong yokai like you. Would you be willing to join me, as part of my Night Parade? There are many who are part of my Night Parade like you and I... You are alone, right? If you join me, you will never be alone... I guarantee it."

"...I'm not normal! I can't... help it. I don't know... when I'll start... killing those around me." Yasaka snarled, her tails slashing through the air like nine separate whips. "Even so, you invite me... to join your Parade? A monster... like me?!"

"I will not be killed. I am not that weak." Naruto answered in reply, his tone as calm and still as night.

"You... do not fear me?" Yasaka hesitantly questioned, her rage temporarily receding back to the deep recesses of her mind.

"I do not, Yasaka. I will act as your cell. I will stop you."

"...Do not be so presumptuous!" Yasaka jumped back, momentarily disengaging herself from the battle as her eyes alighted with a crimson fury once more. Channeling her burning inferno of anger, rage, hatred, fury, her tails, each as sharp as any blade, enveloped itself with fire, whipping through the air like blades. "You believe you can stop my rampage, should I ever go berserk? You believe you can tame me, descendant of Tamamo-no-mae herself?! My tails are _whips_! My fangs are _daggers_! My claws are _swords_! My fire incinerates _everything_! Yet, you believe you can stop me?! Many have claimed to be able to stop me, yet all have burned beneath the shadow of my flames! What guarantee do you have, that you will not?! What guarantee do you have, of your strength?! Do not give me false hope, Uzumaki Naruto!"

_Please... stop me... Please... help me... Please...  
><em>

Yet, a small voice deep within the abyss of Yasaka's mind pleaded for help once more. She didn't want to kill! She didn't want to destroy! She didn't want... this!

"...Very well." Naruto replied as he swung his sword downwards, his blade hissing through the air and releasing a mysterious black mist-like substance to the air. Clearing his mind of useless distractions as he prepared for battle, Naruto focused only on the vixen before him. There was only the battle. Everything else was drowned, was muted. "Then, I will simply have to show you my strength... I shall have you witness... my prowess!"

With that, Naruto lunged, initiating the fight once more, his blade screeching against the air to cut its foe. Unleashing a flurry of blows, Naruto was a whirlwind of death, a maelstrom of devastation. However, Yasaka retaliated to the onslaught with all nine of her tails, each a fiery blade of its own right, clashing with Naruto's single katana in a contest for supremacy. Naruto held the advantage of speed, while Yasaka held the advantage of simply having more armaments. They were equal, for now. The outcome of the battle would depend on who made the first mistake.

Flames and black mist clashed relentlessly, the battle taking place so swiftly that there was no time to think before the next strike, for the two combatants, there was only instinct and the fight. The rings and clash of blade against tail resounded throughout the air in a rapid fanfare of violence, a staccato of brutality. The youki the duo released in battle eroded the earth and disintegrated the ruined town around them, creating a clearing, a perfect place for them to continue their battle.

As the battle continued, Yasaka's rage grew, pooling together and accumulating like molten lava in a volcano, clouding her eyes with a furious madness. Growing increasingly frustrated, Yasaka overextended for an instant, launching all nine of her tails in a single strike in her opponent's direction, and in doing so, forsook her defenses entirely. Naruto's keen eyes caught that brief instant where Yasaka was hideously vulnerable, and was quick to act upon it. Dodging Yasaka's strike with a single sidestep, and his sword swept into view, screeching against the air to take advantage of this vulnerability.

From there, Naruto pressed the assault, and Yasaka could do naught but withstand this death by a thousand cuts, withstand slash after slash, cuts after cuts, awaiting the right moment to retaliate. Yasaka roared in pain in anger, and with a thunderous roar, released a burst of fire, fire capable of scorching and melting any average men's flesh from their bones. Naruto's eyes widened in a brief surprise before the stream of fire seemed to overcome him.

For a moment, the battle appeared to have reached its conclusion. At least, that was what Yasaka had thought, before she was disabused of that notion when black mist erupted from the gout of fire, converging to another spot and congealing to reveal the uninjured figure of Naruto.

Naruto stood in a lax manner, his azure eyes shining with jubilation and excitement. Those piercing sapphire orbs was filled not with fear or wariness, but with a flame that represented a lust, a thirst, a need for battle. Black ichor - the equivalent of blood for youkai - boiled furiously beneath his flesh. This was what he lived for! To fight! To battle!

A tempestuous growl erupted from Yasaka's throat, revealing her frustration at her failure in killing her foe. Snarling, Yasaka's feral mind burned with the _need_ to butcher this man who had the impudence to survive! The impertinence to stand there, mocking her! The insolence to challenge her! She would slay this foe with every ounce of her power!

Yasaka crouched, ready to leap and lunge at a moment's notice.

Naruto moved into a stance, preparing to strike.

On an unspoken signal, the two leapt into battle as one, fiery murderous orbs meeting joyful sapphire spheres.

A slash. An overhead cut. A thrust, a stab, a vertical strike. Body and blade moving in unison as if one being, Naruto's swordplay resembled an elegant dance, graceful and wielded with poise. Fighting with furious strength, Yasaka's frenzied strikes were that of a mad warrior's, savage, fierce, and cruel. The two were locked in a mortal waltz, the music a symphony of clashing steel.

"Horahorahorahora!" Naruto's blade seemed to move even swifter, even faster, if that was even possible. Suddenly, the match seemed to tip towards the favor of the young lord of chaos. His blade reached the body of the fox youkai through the torrent of tail strikes that sought to decapitate him, carving minor lines of blood before backing out. "Splendid. How truly magnificent you are, Yasaka!"

Roaring with pain, Yasaka jumped back, attempting to back off from the engagement, but like a fox onto its wounded prey, Naruto pressed on, the smell of weakness driving him forth, refusing to let his prey escape his sight. Slowly, but surely, Yasaka was losing ground. It was only a matter of time, until...

Panicking, Yasaka stumbled backwards while attempting to disengage, and in her hurry, failed to see a small piece of rubble behind her, causing her to momentarily lose her balance. It was for a short instant, yet it was a wide enough opening for Naruto to take advantage of.

Blurring into motion within her guard, Naruto swung with a kick, shooting Yasaka across the clearing, where she collided with the ground, tossing earth upwards. Frowning, Naruto looked towards the prone figure of Yasaka with a vague tinge of disappointment, and spoke. "Yet... Why do you hesitate, Yasaka? Why do you reject yourself so?"

Yasaka's eyes widened, her eyes, once scarlet red with rage, turning back to their original amber brown, her unbridled rage receding from her mind at Naruto's words. "Wh-wha-"

"Why are you fighting with such weak resolve? You can never cut me... with a blade that rejects its own existence!"

"But I don't want to fight... I don't want to hurt anyone... I don't want to kill!" She yelled out defiantly, gritting her teeth as her fangs gnashed against each other.

"Once again, you lie to yourself. What then, do you call those voices in your head?" Naruto questioned. "A man once told me, that when two people face off and clash against each other, they are able to read the other's mind and know exactly what each other thinking. Yet, all I can feel from you is denial. Why don't you accept it already, Yasaka?!"

"That isn't me! That cannot be me! I dislike fighting! I hate fighting! Detest it, even!" Yasaka growled out. "...I hate killing!"

"Accept it, Yasaka! They _are _you! Deep down, you desire violence! The other you is simply a manifestation of the negative parts of yourself you detest! Don't you think its about time you stop rejecting yourself, Yasaka?!"

"Shut up!"

"It is precisely because you reject yourself that you lose yourself in your rage so easily! It is precisely because you reject yourself that you are constantly at war, with _yourself_!"

"Shut up!" Yasaka screamed in denial, refusing to accept Naruto's words as truth. Amber honey eyes turned scarlet red once again, signalling her descent to madness and rage.

"Yasaka, you are going about this the wrong way. Like fire, your instincts are a destructive, uncontrollable force that can only be guided, not leashed, directed and not oppressed."

"**Shut up!**" Feral, primal, Yasaka roared, releasing a flood of flames that threatened to set the entire clearing ablaze. Fire spewed forth like a river, engulfing everything in a continuous stream. This fiery deluge scorched the earth, burning it into soot, and its heat caused the very air to shimmer. This mastodonic ocean of wrathful flames, like that from a dragon's breath, transformed the battlefield into one of searing heat.

"...Very well. It seems that I will have to force you to witness truth." Naruto sighed, holding his blade up to the sky. Black mist swirled around it, forming a miniature cyclone surrounding the blade. Yet - the blade seemed to drink in the black mist, almost as if it was alive. The world trembled at the astronomical amount of youki being emanated to fuel the transformation. The kanji "_Kurama_" emblazoned within the blade's steel then lit up with a blazing reddish orange. "Behold!"

What emerged from the tempestuous squall was a great cleaver, a massive serrated blade, its edges notched with sawlike teeth. It was obvious the blade was crafted with the intention to shed as much blood as possible, to inflict as much pain as possible. However, what was more outstanding was not the blade, but Naruto himself. Shrouded in an intense aura of yellow youki, Naruto's eyes, once blue, metamorphose to orange. The whisker-like marks on his cheeks thickened and widened, and his hair grew longer and spikier, giving him the appearance of a feral beast.

With a single swing, Naruto cut the oncoming torrent of flames into two, pushing the flames to the sides as they surged past him. "Rage against the dying of the night!"

Like a yellow flash, Naruto blurred into motion and reappeared before Yasaka, his great sword raised up and arcing through the air to deliver a downward slice. Yasaka's eyes widened in shock as she brought her tails up, all nine instinctively jabbing through the air to block the blow. Yasaka felt a jolt of astonishment when it required all nine of her tails to block the blow, but - _was he still overpowering her?!_ Yasaka did not have time to register the absurd amount of strength her foe had in this new form as she jumped back, retreating before she was completely overwhelmed. "The hour of twilight is nigh!"

"No more, Yasaka! No more will I allow you to wallow in your fear!"

"_**SILENCE!**_" The fox youkai screeched, as she cloaked itself in blistering, heat-inducing flames. Shrouding herself in a throbbing, rippling sphere of pure, concentrated, volatile fire, a gigantic fireball which resembled the sun, Yasaka channeled all her emotions, her rage, her anger, her fury and converted all of it to fuel her flames. What emerged was hellfire, a fiendish inferno of immense heat. "What do you know of my _pain_? My _fear_? My _agony_?! _**NOTHING!** _These cursed flames have brought me nothing but despair! These cursed, destructive flames which can only bring about destruction!"

Her roar echoing around the clearing, Yasaka stormed forwards.

"_I see... the true cause of this is her hatred, her fear of her own flames._" Naruto thought to himself, as he gazed at Yasaka's reckless charge. "One final move to end everything then, Yasaka? I will gladly oblige!"

The yellow youki Naruto emitted bleeded over and enveloped his blade, snaking through the metal to the tip of the blade, congealing and converging to create a similar, massive, spiraling sphere. However, four large points started protruding from the sphere, curving out and giving the sphere the appearance of a giant shuriken. The enormous sphere released a loud screech-like noise, creating a high-pitched dissonance somewhat akin to the sound of metal being ground. It was obvious from the amount of youki released that the sphere would spell utter doom for anybody it collided with. It was that destructive a force.

Swinging his blade, Naruto threw the spiraling sphere towards Yasaka, as he uttered the name of his technique. "Rasenshuriken."

Both spheres of fire and wind met in the middle, clashing and attempting to erase each other from existence. Fire tried to burn away wind, while wind tried to extinguish fire. The two spheres expanded as they clashed, creating a clean split between red and white as they released so much excess youki that disintegrated the earth. The collision of the two techniques released a great luminous light that blinded everything.

The roars of Yasaka accompanied the clash as the world melded to white.

* * *

><p><em>Once upon a time, in the ancient Japanese capital of Edo, there was a family of four kitsune youkais who lived in the city, hiding amongst the humans in plain sight. The family lived happily, camouflaging themselves as normal humans, for they knew that if their true nature was disclosed, they would face discrimination and death. They pretended to be normal, and thus, lived in normality. Their lives, while normal and monotonous, were satisfying and fulfilling. The family comprised of a father, a mother, and their two beautiful daughters.<br>_

_It seemed that life would have continued to stay this way forever. The elder sister, a beautiful kitsune named Yasaka, would have been satisfied living such an ordinary life forever. For living with her father, her mother and her younger sister peacefully brought her felicity. She desired nothing more. She lived her life normally, ordinarily, and was content.  
><em>

_But fate is cruel. Sometimes, fate throws a small rock into the river called life, creating minor ripples that changed everything, twisting the future and warping destiny. And the changes brought may not always be positive. Sometimes, the diverged future paved a path of hopelessness, pain and despair. Such a case happened here, in the town of Edo, within the small, close-knit family._

_"Wow! Yasaka-nee, you gained nine tails! I can hardly believe it!" The younger sister, a smaller kitsune with four tails swaying in the wind exclaimed. "My own sister is gonna be one of the strongest youkai in all of Japan one day!"  
><em>

_For a kitsune, gaining a ninth tail was a big deal, as it was the very apex of strength a kitsune can ever achieve. It was a momentous occasion, and the family celebrated quietly, with high hopes for their progeny's future. _

_But tragedy soon befell the peaceful family on the 2nd of March, 1657. _

_There was a reason why most kitsune, if ever, gained their ninth tail after a few hundred years. It was because it is only then that a kitsune would be able to handle the absurd increase in power the ninth tail granted. The gain in strength each tail gave was exponential - the step up from eight tails to nine tails could hardly be compared to that from seven tails to eight. _

_Yasaka was too young. Her body, young, fragile as it was, was unable to withstand the pressure of the immense power that came with having nine tails. The following disaster could hardly be called her fault. _

_Just as waves gradually erodes and laps away at the river bank, just as all metals eventually rusts in the presence of water and oxygen, Yasaka's youki waned away at her reasoning and eventually surged to the surface, like a wild horse given free reign. Permeating every part of the body, her disciplined mind faltered before the great deluge and failed to control and prevent her from acting on a wild, berserk aggression. Unable to hold back and contain the potent youki, it broke out and overwhelmed Yasaka's mind, body and soul, twisting her reason and tinted her world with rage. _

_What followed was carnage._

_What followed was famously known as the Great Fire of Meireki, or the Furisode Fire. An awesome fire that destroyed a major part of ancient Edo, that lasted for three days and estimated to have claimed over one hundred thousand lives. It was one of the greatest calamity and apocalyptic disaster in Japanese history._

_When Yasaka awoke from the crimson haze of blood, she felt a faint tinge of freedom, as if she had let go of some of her inhibitions, as if she had finally released something that had pent up within her. Groggy and drunk from just awakening from her recent trance, Yasaka delighted in the vague sense of freedom, and slowly turned around...  
><em>

_Yasaka could not comprehend the sight before her. For before her, was a small, fragile figure of a girl, the girl's eyes distant and echoing with a dull pain. Blood leaking profusely from her lips, the young girl's chest was pierced with a tail that held her upright. A tail that was undoubtedly Yasaka's. Four smaller, different tails drooped limply to the ground, the furry appendages being connected to the back of the small, young girl at the tailbone.  
><em>

_"Why... Yasaka-nee..." A small whimper crawled out from the pale lips of the young girl.  
><em>

__Pillars of fire set the town ablaze, the fierce fire sundering houses and buildings, columns of searing heat trapping its occupants in tombs of scorching, spitting flames, reducing everything into motes of ashes and dust. __

___The mortals realms learned that day of the destructive potential of fire, a ravenous force which consumes everything and anything. _The tidings of death, the harbinger of destruction, the visitation of woe, the herald of ruination. The apostle which held the potential to bring perishment to the world. ____

____And Yasaka learned that day that she was a murderer, a beast which had laid waste to an entire city. And she hated herself forever for it, for the unforgivable sins she had committed.____

____Some say the world would end in fire. The world learned of the very real possibility of those words that day.____

* * *

><p>Yasaka's eyes flickered open, as a muddling haze surrounded her mind. Bewildered and groggy, she tried to blink away her sleepiness as she gazed at the alien scenery.<p>

...Just a dream. She rarely dreamed about that torturous night, having sealed the memory in the deepest recesses of her mind. But the recent battle had cracked the seal, loosened the lock, and the events of that nightmarish night came forth, surging like a unstoppable wave.

A flicker of a spark caught her attention. She turned her head, and stared at a small campfire, its tongues licking the air. She gazed at the writhing embers, mesmerized. A haunting reminder of that which had taken away her family, a grim remembrance of her sins.

A voice cut through the air, snapping her from her trance. "So, you are awake. That was faster than I expected."

She stared into Naruto's eyes, the eyes of the man who had, despite her very best efforts, despite everything she threw at him, despite all her might, emerged triumphant as the stronger being, the fiercer force. And he gazed back, into the bottomless abyss that were Yasaka's eyes.

Yasaka inwardly marveled at the sheer resolve, the complete and absolute will to pave a path true to himself, and the utter determination to see his goals to the end that emanated from Naruto's eyes. It was the eyes of one who would defy common sense if it suited his belief.

Yasaka was the first one to back off from the stare off, submitting herself to the greater power. In a tone so dead, so resigned that it spoke of one who had given up completely on life, Yasaka asked, "Why... didn't you kill me? A murderer like me... have no right to live!"

"Don't you dare be so selfish, Yasaka." Naruto eyes narrowed harshly. "The people you killed, the towns you have burned. Each and every one of them held a future, you ripped them away with your flames. They would never forgive you, and I am sure they would yell to the skies if they could, that _death isn't an apology_. So don't you dare die so irresponsibly, just to satisfy your own self, Yasaka!"

Yasaka's eyes widened, the semblance of an unknown emotion, a spark of life beginning to coalesce in her eyes. "Wh-what are you-"

She was cut off abruptly. "If, if you really feel remorse for your sins, you should live instead, live on the behalf of those who cannot, live your life atoning for your sins, live your life so that one day, _one day_, you can meet them with your head held high, and apologize to them properly."

Yasaka simply stared, and after a few dozen seconds of awkward silence, Naruto began to feel uneasy. Finally, Yasaka chuckled, which gradually grew in volume and intensity until it was a full-blown laughter. When it finally faded, she sighed amusedly, "For a moment, I was wondering what you would say to cheer me up. 'Death isn't an apology... Don't you dare die so irresponsibly, just to satisfy your own self...' How was that supposed to comfort me?"

Naruto merely muttered under his breath embarrassingly, as he scratched the back of his neck.

The female kitsune then looked at Naruto speculatively, musing. "_He did prove his strength earlier, lending strength to his earlier words..."_

Nodding her head and made a decision, be it for better or for worse. Holding hope within her heart, hope that finally, she would not be alone, hope that finally, she would be accepted, she kneeled down before the Lord of Chaos and Pandemonium, clasping her hands together, and spoke an oath. "Ah. At last, I have achieved my long-held dream of finding someone worthy to serve, someone who would hold the power necessary to reign me in. A man so unpredictable - a man so uncontrollable that he will overturn everything as we know it. My master, I, Yasaka, Kyuubi no Kitsune, descendant of Tamamo-no-mae, offer everything I am now to you. I will derive no greater pleasure than seeing your will realized."

Naruto peered at Yasaka blankly for a few seconds, before smirking. "Very well. I shall respond in kind. I, Uzumaki Naruto, Sixth Nurarihyon, hereby accept your pledge. I command you under my name, to become a part of my Hundred Demons, and lead a new life under me!"

A seal, a small emblem with the kanji for "Nurarihyon" appeared under the kneeling figure of Yasaka, and lit up with a furious orange, encasing her in light. Waves of power resonated through the air, crackling through the air.

And Yasaka eyes never wavered from her future lord through the entire process. For before her was hope. A sword of light in endless darkness, a beacon of light in the stormy seas, here was the answer to her pleas. For the first time in what felt like forever - she felt hope once again. And she thought to herself.

__Ahh... So this is the rumored "fear" of the Lord of Pandemonium...__

* * *

><p><em>Teaser<em>

_"I am the fallen angel of the stars!" Kokabiel roared, his eyes glinting with rage. "Do you understand what this means, you filthy youkais?! I am the very stars themselves! I am..."_

_Throwing his hands up to the heavens, Kokabiel fingers grabbed at the air, as if he was clutching something invisible to all but himself. He then smashed that hand to downwards, akin to a basketball dunk._

_"**INFINITY!**"_

_Naruto eyes widened in surprise, as an immense well of energy began to tickle at his senses. Looking up to the skies, he started to feel something, something astronomical that seemed just beyond the reach of his sense. But it was steadily coming closer, the instrument of doom, the apostle of death. He could feel it - the pure malice, the desire for destruction from Kokabiel's aura surrounding his summoned object._

_Suddenly, the clouds split, as the vaguest visage of a fiery, rocky, crater filled surface descended from the heavens. A shadow overlapped the entire town, as the true form of Kokabiel's ultimate move was unveiled._

_Kokabiel was the fallen angel of the stars. Thus, he was the stars._

_A meteorite. Also known as a shooting or falling star._

_Ultimate despair. Supreme hopelessness. A lesser man would have felt such emotions, and resigned to his fate upon seeing the star of darkness. However, Uzumaki Naruto have not, and will never, be weak-willed._

_Clutching his sword tightly, he muttered to himself so softly that he might as well have not spoken. "Isn't this nostalgic... My good friend, Kurama?"_

_"**INDEED. THE LAST WE SAW SUCH AN ATTACK WAS DURING THE FOURTH GREAT SHINOBI WAR, FROM THAT MOST VILE MAN, UCHIHA MADARA.**"_

_A booming, resounding voice echoed through the clearing, its mere presence powerful, ancient._

_Chuckling to himself, his eyes lit up with a feral glee as his whisker-like mark thickened into bars. "Well, we can't let an attack we have seen before kill us, right?"_

_"**LET US GRIND THIS WHELP INTO DUST. LET US SLICE THIS FILTH TO PIECES. LET US SHOW THIS ANT WHY WE YOUKAIS... ARE TO BE FEARED!**"_

_Smirking, Naruto launched himself at what would normally be called "certain death", his blood singing with battle lust._

_"**I AM THE UNMAKER OF WORLDS, DESTRUCTION INCARNATE. HATRED GIVEN FLESH, ABHORRENCE GIVEN** **PURPOSE.**"_

_His blade sheathed in a cyclone of black mist, the kanji emblazoned within the blade's steel glimmering with a furious red, the ancient words roaring with power._

_"**THE INEXORABLE, INEVITABLE TIDINGS OF DEATH TEMPERED BY HONOR. THE JAWS OF THE CATACLYSM CALMED BY CAMARADERIE.**"_

_A single black dot in comparison to the great, colossus, titanic sphere of what was the falling star. To any ordinary men, the outcome was obvious. That man who stood in defiance of the meteorite was sure to die._

_"**I AM KURAMA, NINTH DEMON BLADE. LET US SHOW YOU OUR POWER... THIS POWER THAT ONCE SEALED A PRIMORDIAL GODDESS.**"_

_But Naruto merely smiled, the pupils of his eyes transforming into a curious cross with a horizontal bar. His iris, originally blue, now became a wrathful red. A orange pigmentation appeared around his eyes, signalling his usage of natural energy._

_"**YOU WHO STANDS IN THE WAY OF MY FRIEND. WATCH AS YOUR WORLD COMES TO AN END.**"_

_The meteorite neared, blotting out the entire sky. Watching the falling rock that would spell demise for all creation under it, Naruto muttered a soft, rhetorical question to himself. "You would start a disaster for the sake of your selfish desires? You dare to threaten Japan, and its denizens, to satisfy yourself? Then let me, let us rectify the mistake of your existence right here and now."  
><em>

_"**AND LET THE SEA SWALLOW YOUR SMOLDERING REMAINS.**"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, last of the Trinity trilogy, featuring Yasaka's past. Meanwhile, grab a teaser of the upcoming fight with Kokabiel. **


End file.
